The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-04-30
GOOD DOG STORIES.

GOOO OO0 SIOHt6o.
Animals Who Understand L~snguage-Ar
Act Of Hospltality-A Musical Dog.
A certain person who was highly
praising an animal. being asked what
remarkable qualities it possessed, re-
piled ut is ours" No matter how de-
ticient a dog may be in all good traits.
his master will readily acknowledg &c the
force of his recommendation.
The experiments of Sir John Lub'
book. an account of which has recently
been published, show that dogs posses:
considerable capacity for learning the
meaning of words. Many anecdotes
on this subject might, no doubt, be col
lected. Rover belonged to q gentle.
man in the neighboring town of Union.
One morning a surveyor. who was
boarding with his master and was
about leaving upon one of his daily ex.
petitions, was told that Rover might
accompany him. The dog heard the
permission granted and needed no
further invitation. Having waited
until the surveyor came from the house,
much to hat gentleman's surprise, he
Immediately followed him, though this
had never happened before.
A still more remarkable case &C.
Cured in Bremen. A small, shaggy
dog, Dick by name. was accused Of
killing a sheep, and vas condemned on
the morrow to lose his life. Having
listened to his sentence. Dick suddenly
disappeared. travelling twenty miles to
the town of Washington, where he pre-
scented himself at the house of his
masters father-in-law. He was nat
urally supposed to have preceded some
of the family. and their non-appcar-
ance occasioncd not a little surprise.
Some two weeks later his former
master drove up to the door. and was
warmly welcomed by Dick; but when,
at the close Of his visit, he prepared to
take his departure. the dog had again
disappeared. Dick never returned.
His confidence had received a blow
from which it never rallied. and to the
end Of his life he remained at his
adopted home. A dog belong
ing to a relative of the
writer killed a pet rabbit. The
offense was duly explained and its en-.
ormity pointed out. Ever after. when
the rabbit was mentioned before him.
he would hang his head, look extreme
ly sheepish. and. if possible. sneak out
Of the room.
The lower animals. except when the
parental instinct is dominant, arc SUI
premely selfish. Nature has taught
them, by severe competition. that, il
they would live at all, each must live
solely for himself. A genuine act Of
hospitality, however, on the part Of
one dog to another. was related to me
by a clergyman. who heard the story
from one of his parishioners. A
powerful mastiff was accustomed to
conceal fragments Of food in q snow
drift against some future exigency.
One day he was observed to proceed
thithcr accompanied by = smaller
friend. and to wait patiently until his
guest had satisfied his hunger. Then
he carefully recovered the remnants,
and trotted away as though playing
the host wa an every day affair.
Shepherd dogs eyince wonderful
memory by their ability to recognize
every member in a large flock of sheep.
We know Of a dog that would instantly |
distinguish the chickens Of a neighbor
from those of his master. and, until
broken Of the habit; would summarily |
punish any tresspassing Of the former
by wringing their necks. So, too, a
sagacious farm dog will remember cat
tlceven after months Of absence.
Probably the best known dog story
Of antiquity is the account from the
Odyssey. of how Ulysses. returning
from the tcn-ycar siege Of Troy, is
recognized only by his aged and
decrepit dog. Here is not a bad paral-
OF this ancient tale. A frequent
companion Of mine. when a boy,
was a large. shaggy dog Of q peculiar
BLUSH color. His unusual sagacity
made him at once an excellent guar.
dian and plnyfellow. He would climb !
a perpendicular ladder to the hayloft,
and enjoyed the game of 'hidc and
seek US fully as any boy. Shortly aft
er his purchase, while still a Young
his master, the writer's uncle,
sailed on q voyage, the duration Of
which was about a year and a hall. On
MS return Rover welcomed him but
coldly. 1t was not expected, indeed,
he would remember a person
he had known at so early an age
Hnd for so short a time. Something,
however, about the stranger puzzled